Gas turbine engine assemblies generally include a combustor in fluid communication with a scroll assembly, which in turn is in fluid communication with a turbine. Typically, the combustor receives pressurized air from a compressor and fuel from a fuel injector. The resulting fuel-air mixture is then ignited in the combustor to produce high temperature combustion gases. The combustion gases then flow downstream into the scroll assembly. The scroll assembly is a hollow, generally coiled component that receives a tangential flow of the hot combustion gases into its interior and exhausts these gases through an annular outlet into an axial inflow turbine situated adjacent to the scroll, or a radial inflow turbine situated at its center.
The extreme temperature environment resulting from the hot combustion gases may limit the useful operating time, and ultimately, component life of the engine assembly. Particularly, the turbine can be very sensitive to variations and extremes in temperature. This consideration is complicated by the asymmetrical nature of the scroll assembly and the non-uniform temperatures of the gases exiting from the combustor. As the combustion gases flow through the scroll assembly, mixing occurs with between hotter and cooler gases, with cooling of the relatively hotter gas. However, portions of the combustion gases, particularly hot streams in the combustion gases, may exit the scroll assembly before sufficient mixing and cooling has occurred.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide turbine engine assemblies having combustors that provide improved temperature characteristics. In addition, it is desirable to provide combustors that provide combusted gases that have advantageous temperature profiles to a scroll assembly for a turbine. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.